Map/Chart > The Bahamas

Abaco Lighthouse to Elbow Reef Lighthouse

A detailed but delightfully presented chart of an important region of the Bahamas

Chart Information

Reference:

A523

Date

1883-5 & 1886

Hydrographer/Surveyor/Artist:

Lt & Commander William Shearburn White

Size Of Original:

w 32" x h 51"

Paper Type

Innova Smooth Cotton 315gsm

Further Information

This print is
also available framed at 'Half' (A523x) size. Framed delivery to USA & Canada only.

Chart ID

Size

Dimensions

Print Only

Framed

Notes

A523

Original

w32" x h51"

$391

N/A

Print only

A523x

Half

w22.5" x h36"

$194

$405

3" frame

Frames
available in either black or brown wood with UV protective acrylic glazing. Please go to the drop down menu to
select your choice.

Read the full Chart History here:

The 29 islands
which make-up the area we now know as the Commonwealth of the
Bahamas were the site of Christopher Columbus's first landing back
in the 1490s. They were first colonized by British settlers during the
17th century, and were officially declared a Crown Colony in 1718, and
their proximity to the North American mainland and Florida ensured that
they have a special relationship with both America and Britain.

The story of the
Bahamas is very much one of new beginnings: Following the Revolutionary
War of 1775-1782, the Islands of the Bahamas, like the island
colonies in the Caribbean and Bermuda, remained under British control
and provided shelter for thousands of pro-loyalist's supporters who were
no longer able to live on the American mainland under the new
government. These emigrants immediately set-up a new plantation
economy amongst the islands, and a major trade link with the British
homeland was born. In the 19th century, as part of battle to secure the
abolition of the slave-trade, many Africans were liberated by the Royal
Navy in the region and were given a new start amongst the islands.

The Abaco
Islands consist of Great Abaco and it's outer reef, Elbow
Reef, and throughout the 18th and 19th centuries were sparsely
populated. They were economically dependent upon the trades of boat
building and ship-wrecking.

The practice
of 'salvage' (or 'wracking') by ship-wreckers in the islands was a
well-organized and lucrative business which accounted for the
employment of up to half of all able-bodied men in the region, and over
300 vessels were licensed into the trade. The islands were on the main
shipping route between the Caribbean and Florida. All 'salvaged' cargo
was considered to be 'imported' goods and was sent to Nassau for
auction. The government and its agents would take up to 50% of the
value, with the remainder going to the wrackers and the ship owners.
Around the middle of the 19th century records show that up to one ship a
week was wrecked on the reefs of the Abaco Islands.

Perhaps not surprisingly, there is evidence of the wrackers deliberately setting lights to attract passing ships onto
the reefs rather than away from them. The construction of the Elbow
Reef lighthouse at Hope Town in 1864 was no smooth affair with
local 'wrackers' doing all they could to interrupt its construction,
including sabotage, sinking construction supply barges, and withholding
drinking water to construction workers, . The site chosen for the
construction of the Lighthouse was, ironically, on the exact spot which
had been the most profitable for the wrackers, at the entrance to the
harbour.

The other
lighthouse featured on the survey is known as the 'Hole in the Wall'
lighthouse on the southern tip of Great Abaco. It was named after a hole
in the wall of a rocky tidal outcropping by the sea. Construction was
completed the same year that the soundings (shown in blue) for the
southern part of this survey were made by HMS Thunder between November
and April 1836.

The chart makes
reference to the vegetation and wildlife on the islands and, as well as
including small notes as to natural navigational features such as
prominent hills and trees, it shows an area frequented by flamingos and
wildfowl. Land heights at various points are marked in red. Marsh
Harbour, now the major ship building town and 'gateway' to the islands,
shows little sign of development.

The major part of
survey was undertaken by Lt & Commander William Shearburn White,
assisted by Lts. Smyth & Smith utilizing HMS Sparrowhawk which was a
specially built survey schooner. That the British Navy had, by the mid
1800s, started to commission specialist survey vessels was a mark of
the importance attached to this level of information gathering.